History was made at Chelsea FC Women in 2017-18, with a league and FA Cup Double on the domestic front and a Champions League campaign that went farther than any other attempt in the past (a semifinal defeat to Wolfsburg). Add to that a new stadium to call their own after Chelsea acquired Kingsmeadow as well as a long-overdue name change from “Ladies” to “Women” and it’s truly been a year to remember.
Now there’s one more accolade we can add, after manager Emma Hayes was nominated for this year’s ‘The Best’ FIFA awards for Best Women’s Coach. The shortlist of 10 candidates includes former Chelsea coach Mark Parsons as well, but obviously we’ll be hoping that Hayes wins this one.
Somewhat surprisingly, no Chelsea players were nominated for the Best Women’s Player award. Sorry, Fran Kirby, Ramona Bachmann, et al.
OFFICIAL | The nominees for #TheBest FIFA Women’s Coach 2018: Emma Hayes, Stephan Lerch, Mark Parsons, Reynald Pedros, Alen Stajcic, Asaka Takakura, Vadao, Jorge Vilda, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and Sarina Wiegman
— #FIFAWWC (@FIFAWWC) July 24, 2018
Recognising the period from 7 August 2017-24 May 2018 inclusive pic.twitter.com/ykEUdFUfZM
Also receiving recognition is Eden Hazard, who wasn’t Chelsea’s best player last season but has been deemed worthy of nomination for FIFA’s award, which probably counts in his performances (and captaincy) for the Belgian national team as well.
Hazard is unlikely to win with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mo Salah, and Kylian Mbappe also among the ten total nominees, but the nomination itself is a nice enough accomplishment already.
OFFICIAL | The nominees for #TheBest FIFA Men’s Player 2018:
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 24, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kevin De Bruyne
Antoine Griezmann
Eden Hazard
Harry Kane
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Mohamed Salah
Raphael Varane
For the period 3 July 2017-15 July 2018 pic.twitter.com/bqt8tDWY8d
Congrats to both Emma and Eden!